political
Mexico Debt Crisis — De la Madrid's Austerity
Mexico announced it could not service its $80 billion external debt on August 12, 1982, triggering the Latin American debt crisis. The peso was devalued by 70%. President López Portillo nationalized the banks in his last months in office. His successor, Miguel de la Madrid, implemented IMF-mandated austerity that slashed real wages by 40% over the decade. The crisis destroyed PRI's economic legitimacy.
Sources
- T1 Banco de México, Crisis 1982 documentation Official
- T2 Wall Street Journal, August 1982 Major
- T3 Sebastian Edwards, The Debt Crisis in Latin America, World Bank Institutional